thats up to the coach then. if Bargs can exploit matchups on offense, Triano should be able to evaluate who to put against opposing scoring bigs. sure there will be instances when bargs will have to defend the opposing scoring big but it happens. what im essentially saying is if they want bargs to remain on this team, they have to make adjustments based on his abilities. i mean for the love of god we all know how a "bad" defender he is, so if the team is going to gripe about it every single time then trade or release the guy. if he's still here, that means they want him to stay, so either get him Patrick Ewing or Alonzo Mourning to coach him on his defense, or switch matchup so he wont be exploited on defense. teams do it all the time. you can see it with kobe, lebron, wade. im not saying theyre not good defenders, but they dont "usually" put your star to guard the other team's star the whole game.

You're asking a hell of a lot from your coach. You can't "hide" a big on defense. Not for very long. And we're not talking about simply putting him on a weaker check. The problem is he can't play team defense, and that's where he'll end up killing you. Teams will attack him over and over. We've seen teams do it time and time again, this season. They'll run plays so that Bargnani is the one who has to help out on defense. And that usually results in a score. And no matter how strong defenders his teammates are, teams will always figure out ways to attack him.

In the playoffs, it gets even worse. Any weaknesses are exploited, and Bargnani's inability to defend will make it impossible to keep him on the floor for long periods, especially in crunch time. It's simply not worth it.

To the shotblocking and steals issue, I don't entirely agree. Just because you consistently get steals or blocks doesn't make you a good defensive player. You can be a bad defensive player and still get blocks and steals. My favourite example is when Michael Williams lead the league in steals when he was with Minnesota (back in the last century). He was a horrible defender who gambled far too much and was often out of position on defense. Same goes for a lot of shotblockers. They want to block a shot so badly they will often be out of position, be faked out too easily, etc. Think of JaVale McGee in the last Washington game. He blocked 4 shots against the Raptors, but otherwise played horrible defense.

Blocks and steals are just like scoring. Scoring, unto itself, is great, because you need to score to win, but just scoring 20 points isn't good enough. You need to know HOW you scored those 20 points. Were they forced? Were they within the offense? Was it efficient? Mike James averaged 20 ppg his last year with the Raptors, but how valuable were those 20 ppg?

As for DeRozan, I think the vast majority of people are pleased with his progress, which can be evidenced by the comments on this thread. That's one of the highlights many people point to in this season. DeRozan and Davis' progression. As I pointed out earlier, this thread was basically a reactionary one because Multipaul was getting upset with all the Bargnani bashing, so he attacked someone he knows is well liked by the fans.

I dont agree. If you get a steal or a block, thats already 2 points that youre preventing the other team from getting. if you get 2, then thats 4pts, so on and so forth. Again, just want to remind you the definition of good defense, preventing the opponent from scoring the basketball or committing a foul. I think consistent high steals and blocks output is definitely parallel to being a good defender. If you check the NBA.com statistical leaders, the leaders in steals categories are Paul, Rondo, Westbrook, Kidd, Allen, Manu among others. Same with blocks, at the top of the heap is Bogut, Howard, McGee, Ibaka, Bynum and Amare. And youve attested to this before, that the players named are good defenders. I cant really comment on Michael Williams leading the league in steals. All i can say is he's in really good company, coz John Stockton, Gary Payton, Michael Jordan have all led the leagues in steals at some point in their careers, and these named are regarded as really good defenders. The situations you mentioned, "gambled far too much and was often out of position on defense. Same goes for a lot of shotblockers. They want to block a shot so badly they will often be out of position, be faked out too easily, etc." Arent those part of the game? i mean even the best defenders gamble on steals, try to chase block....its the same as when a good scorer puts himself in a bad predicament when he tries to go for a circus shot, or a rebounder boxing out the wrong guy....i think its all part of the game. i dont think it consistently happens, just something that comes out in the course of a game, which i think is normal. you cant really be saying that michael williams gambled on every defensive scheme he's in and tried to go for the steal everytime. but i cant say for sure coz i didnt see any of his games.

i dont think thats a fair assessment. scoring is totally different from blocks and steals. you can easily put yourself in a scoring position, but you cant as easily put yourself in a position to steal or block, at least not logically. Anybody can get the ball and try to shoot it every possession, but i dont think any player deemed sane is going to go to each player chasing the ball for a steal or to run to every player who attempts a shot and try to block it. that would just look crazy. And Mike James avg 20pts for the Raps, on 7 of 15 for 47%FG and 44% beyond the arc. nothing wrong with those numbers. 3 of 4 from the line for 84%.

I agree, i am pleased as well with Demar's performance although i was hoping his numbers would be higher.

I do think sometimes Multipaul is a little bit over the top, but some posters here do start bash Bargnani threads as well, be it for their own gratification or to spite Multipaul, i think it should be fair for all to post and criticize but accept criticism as well. To each his own, as they say.

I do think sometimes Multipaul is a little bit over the top, but some posters here do start bash Bargnani threads as well, be it for their own gratification or to spite Multipaul, i think it should be fair for all to post and criticize but accept criticism as well. To each his own, as they say.

I think that would be fantastic if he did that. I think the assist numbers would be a little high for him, but I could see him averaging a couple of more points. Maybe 22-5-3 would be his ceiling. On a good team, however, I see him scoring less.

me too, i think that would be the saving grace for the raps, and i think he can do it too.

agree as well, i dont think the ast numbers would be as high just because there arent that many outside shooters on the team. usually he gets his asts when he does the drive and kick, im not too confident the other players can knock down shots. most of his asts usual come from drop passes to the bigs.

You're asking a hell of a lot from your coach. You can't "hide" a big on defense. Not for very long. And we're not talking about simply putting him on a weaker check. The problem is he can't play team defense, and that's where he'll end up killing you. Teams will attack him over and over. We've seen teams do it time and time again, this season. They'll run plays so that Bargnani is the one who has to help out on defense. And that usually results in a score. And no matter how strong defenders his teammates are, teams will always figure out ways to attack him.

In the playoffs, it gets even worse. Any weaknesses are exploited, and Bargnani's inability to defend will make it impossible to keep him on the floor for long periods, especially in crunch time. It's simply not worth it.

If you have a good coach then thats not asking much. Its been working fairly well with Dirk, and worked well with Rashard before, both whom i consider poor defensive bigs. Ive seen Dirk being attacked during the San Antonio series i think 2 years ago, when Duncan averaged 25pts on that series against him, but they were still able get past the spurs and move on to the nuggets. Rashard has always been a liability on defense, and same with Turk who had played the 4 spot numerous times in the series against the cavs, boston, then LA but having Howard beside them and Gortat actually "hid" their defensive "inadequacies" as you would say. And the Magic even went as far as the finals with both Turk and Lewis.